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7 (No Model.) EWITT Frictional Attachment for the Soles ofBuots and Shoes.

No. 237,529. Patented Feb. 8, I881.

" Inventor 24. 14am .2 SW44 PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HEWITT, OF ROCKY HILL, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO GEORGE RYER, OF SAME PLACE.

FRICTIONAL ATTACHMENT FOR THE SOLES 0F BOOTS AND SHOES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 237,529, dated February 8, 1881. Application filed December 20, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. HEWITT, of Rocky Hill, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Frictional Attachments for the Outside of Soles of Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, where the figure is a View of a shoe with my improvement applied to the sole proper and also to the heel.

The improvement consists of a sheet of suitable material, glg th leather,.,stron g pap e or the like, of suitable shape to go on the bottom of a boot or shoe, havingupon one side a coating, in the nature of cement, by which the sheet may be affixed to the boot or shoe, and upon the other side a frictional coatingto pre vent the wearer slipping on icy surfaces.

All persons living in climates where snow and ice are naturally produced at some season of the year are troubled attimes by slippery roads, streets, and walks, caused by ice, and at such times it is very desirable to have something on the foot that will give such frictional contact between the foot covering the icy surface that the wearer may walk safely thereon.

It is the purpose and object of this im prove-' ment to furnish boots and shoeswith means for attaining just such frictional contact at just such times.

The letter a denotes the bottom of a shoe. 1) denotes a sheet or strip of leather, cloth, paper, or any other suitable material, the exact shape of which is not material; but it preferably conforms to the outline of the shoebottom, being somewhat smaller. The sheet or strip b is coated on the other side with a cement suitable in its nature to cause it to adhere with strength sufficient for the purpose in hand to the bottom of the shoe. The exact composition of this cement is not essential.

A mixture of shoemakers wax, common glue, and gum-arabic, the former predominating, is mentioned as such a cement, which ordinary heat, such as may be had by holding the temporary sole near a stove or fire, will render sufficiently plastic to enable the sheetor strip I) to adhere to the shoe-bottom.

The under or outer surface of the strip 1) bears a suitable frictional coating; neitheris the exact nature of this frictional coating an essential matter. Acoatingsimilar to thatfound on sand-paper, the glue being suitably Waterproofed, is a suitable frictional coating.

Such a strip, 1), may be applied directly, either to the sole proper or to the heel, by the agency of the cement alone.

I am aware that a device having a gritty substance on its under side has been applied to the sole of a boot or shoe to prevent slip= ping. This device, however, consisted of an elastic band provided with a loop for the toe of the shoe to enter therein, said loop being located a little in advance of the instep.

My temporary frictional sole consists solely of a simple strip of suitable material,of the desired thickness, having on one side a cement for fastening it directly to the sole proper, and upon the other side a frictional coating to prevent the wearer from slipping.

I claim as my invention- An outer attachment for the soles or heels of boots and shoes, consisting of a sheet or strip, b, of suitable material, having on one side a cement or other adhesive substance by which it is secured to the sole or heel, and upon the other side a frictional coating, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

GEORGE W. HEWITT.

Witnesses:

W. E. SIMoNDs, JAMES J. GREENE. 

